High-tech Options For The Lowly Toilet

October 3, 1999|By San Francisco Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO - Compared with Japan, the United States is in the Dark Ages in bathroom technology. Visitors to Japan marvel at remote-controlled toilets that wash and dry the user, cover up noises with the sound of rushing water, eliminate odors and conduct a urinalysis. Stories abound of foreigners who push the wrong button and emerge dripping from Tokyo bathroom stalls.

Americans aren't privy to toilets with all those functions, but high-tech options exist. For example, Toto Ltd. of Japan has introduced Zoe, an ergonomic toilet seat, to the United States.

The $599 seat has a bidet jet spray for cleansing that's operated by remote control and an odor-absorbing fan activated by sitting on the seat. A seat warmer costs $100 more. The seat fits most American two-piece and many one-piece toilets.

Later this year, Toto plans to upgrade the Zoe seat to fit more American toilets and offer additional features.

``Japan has a very, very advanced toilet culture,'' says Newbold Warden, marketing communication manager of Toto USA. He explains that many Japanese are hooked on being washed during every bathroom trip.

In a recent survey, Toto found that 27 percent of Japanese households are equipped with washlets - toilets with cleansing sprayers.

A portable washlet is also quite popular. ``It's like a Walkman,'' Warden says. ``You take it with you.'' The portable unit, which has a nozzle, spray unit and pump, is available in the United States for $199.

Toto's Japanese catalog of bathroom products has 900 pages. In its research laboratories, the company also has developed antibacterial roof tiles and siding for homes, and an anti-staining coating that can be applied inside toilet bowls.